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Saturday, 27 October 2012

Ring My Bell

I so love and appreciate all of your comments - thank you! I corrected the date of last post's vintage-Amber-photos to 1985 - and I am way long overdue for an intensive round of visiting you! I've been taking outfit photos but not managing time to post, as my major non-work writing project has also been at a peak this week. Here is me catching up to Wednesday, when I had to dress for 2+ hours of car travel and 3+ hours of meeting - I'm telling you, it was definitely time for Giant Pants.

I picked up these super-comfy elastic + drawstring-waisted Enormous Pants of Stripey Goodness (and, incidentally, colour-of-sudden-trendiness-beginning-with-"o", though they have been this same colour for the almost 20 years I've been wearing them) during my first year of graduate studies - around the time I also acquired these here other Stupendous Pants.

They have faded ever so slightly and the hem needs repair now and then, but otherwise they show nary a sign of the usual imminent, extremely awkward and absolutely catastrophic public disintegration. But just watch - now that I had to go and say something, right?

What makes the difference for you between whether you refer to a garment as a blouse or a shirt? My best guess has to do with gathers & ruffles = blouse, and menswear styling & not much more than the odd dart or bit of seaming for fit = shirt.

I am wearing one of these thingys which is mostly shirt but has a gathered under-bust seam, edging it toward the blouse end of the spectrum. Seems we are forever at the mercy of dichotomous language.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend. Are you looking forward to Patti's Visible Monday and Ally's Halloween Party too? I'm excited to see you there!

Goliath pants are in order for that kind of day, definitely. Blouse vs shirt - I use blouse for something that's button-down with button or snap cuffs, usually in a non-knit fabric. But I detour from this at whim. You look fantastic! I love that wide belt with those flapping pants. The non-work writing project sounds soul-satisfying - I hope it is.

You wear these gigantic pants so well! I have a pair laying around, unused because I don't know how to style them. Well, now I have some great inspiration! I love how the scarf echoes the stripes on the pants.

It seemed I was always saying, "Thanks - it was a gift from my mother!" and it turns out "always" is a pretty accurate description! I'm realizing just how many beautiful and cherished favourite things are from her.

I too am declining to use the "O" word for the newest/greatest color! Love these trousers and the way they just flow around you. I wonder if they swoosh? Agree with the Style Crone that your necklace is exquisite.

Hooray for giant pants! For me the difference between blouse and shirt is purpose / how dressy it is / what it is made of / buttons. I think anything with buttons but made for a lady (even menswear styled) is a blouse. A T-shirt is a shirt. Anything slightly frouffy, even without buttons, and anything made of silk or billowly fabrics (like a really top-quality cotton) or polyester (and its variations with fancy names, which basically come down to polyester or nylon or some other synthetic) is a blouse. If the fabric is woven, not knit, it's a blouse. And vice versa - knits are shirts, no matter how frouffy (like some of those asymmetrical getups from Anthropologie that I love so much) (unless, of course, they're made to be loose, in which case, they might be a blouse anyway). Tough to define, but you know it when you see it, right?

You know what I like about your blog Amber? I always learn a new word. Today's word is "dichotomous". I had to research that one.Good question about the shirt vs. blouse thing. I tend to use the two words interchangeably when referring to any shirt a woman is wearing but the frilly it is, the more I'd tend to call it a blouse. I would not however, refer to a man's shirt a blouse, no matter how frilly it is.Giant pants are a must for long trips and especially for eating good meals at restaurants.

Oh, shirt, blouse, who cares? You look lovely in your whatever-it's-called and your giant pants! They are a beautiful colour and suit you so well. You look 7 feet tall, which surely you aren't?! Gorgeous jacket and scarf, and that necklace is exquisite. xxxx

I tend to agree with your shirt/blouse definition, but when tagging anything non-tshirt goes under 'blouse'. And if I can't place it anywhere, I'll use Lynne's word "top". I personally like antiquated words, I think it makes vocabulary more exciting.

Though when fashion rears its head and starts labeling everything under a code word: Breton Stripes, Oxblood, colorblocking - I think those words start to lose their meaning. I personally adore oxblood, the word and the color. But the word has been used to describe every shade of burgundy under the sun. Ah well, marketing for you.

Enormous pants of stripey goodness they are INDEED!They look perfectly comfortable and usper styley, especially with the "biker" boot detailing.The colours too are wonderful.I never wear pants,but I could be tempted to wear a pair such as these;they're pyjamaish and circusy all at once!The scarf and necklace make a splendid neck decoration,burgundy rules!XXX